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Milwaukee firefighter charged in fatal crash

A Milwaukee firefighter was driving more than 70mph last month when he struck a minivan on a West Allis street, killing the driver and a passenger, according to drunken driving homicide charges filed Thursday.

Joshua Larson, 31, faces two counts of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle and two counts of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle with a prohibited blood-alcohol concentration.

He remains on paid suspension pending an internal investigation, according to the Milwaukee Fire Department. He is scheduled to make his initial court appearance June1.

According to the criminal complaint:

Larson and his passengers in a Ford F-350 Super Duty pickup were speeding south on S. 60th St. after attending the Milwaukee Brewers opening day game on April 4.

He struck a minivan pulling out of Johnson Controls, 801 S. 60th St., and then hit a northbound Mazda. The collision occurred just south of the Hank Aaron Trail overpass.

The crash killed Yoruba E. Sly Lundasi, 64, of Milwaukee and Wendell K. Johnson, 38, of Chicago, who were in the minivan.

Lundasi was driving the minivan for Uber, a ride-sharing service, and Johnson, a consultant with KPMG who was working at Johnson Controls, was his passenger.

Both died at the scene from massive internal injuries, according to the complaint's description of autopsy reports.

According to the criminal complaint, witnesses said Larson appeared to be racing south on 60th against another pickup truck, and investigators estimated Larson's truck was going about 70 mph shortly before braking to 54 mph at the point of impact.

Larson cut Lundasi from his seat belt and attempted to give him aid at the scene until other emergency personnel arrived.

Larson, who police said had an odor of alcohol, slightly slurred speech and glassy eyes, told police he had consumed four cans of Coors Light at the baseball game, and estimated he was going about 35 mph down S. 60th St.

He failed some field sobriety tests, and a preliminary breath test showed his blood-alcohol concentration to be 0.164, more than twice the legal limit, and he was arrested by West Allis police. A later blood test showed a blood-alcohol level of 0.172.

Larson was booked into jail on April 5 and released three days later with approval from prosecutors, according to the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office.

Records show Larson has not been the subject of any disciplinary decisions before the city's Fire and Police Commission. Among other duties, the civilian commission is responsible for hearing disciplinary appeals for suspensions for five days or longer, demotions or terminations.

An open records request for his Fire Department personnel file has been denied while the internal investigation is ongoing. His attorney has said Larson has 'spent his entire adult life saving lives' and was very upset about the crash.

Larson has a prior misdemeanor conviction in Langlade County for possessing a firearm while intoxicated. He was fined $100 and ordered to forfeit his firearm in 2015, according to online court records.

Read or Share this story: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2016/05/26/milwaukee-firefighter-charged-in-fatal-crash/85036584/